13.10.2005

Manitou acquire Chinese Forklift company

Telehandler manufacturer, Manitou has announced
The acquisition of a majority interest (90%) in Hangzhou Irisman MH Equipment Corp, which specialises in the manufacture and distribution of industrial Internal Combustion powered masted forklift trucks.

Hangzhou Irisman is a young company, recently
established in Hangzhou, in the north of Zhejiang province, one of China’s most dynamic regions, 150 km south of Shanghai.

It manufactures and markets a range of industrial diesel and Petrol/Propane powered forklift trucks with lifting capacities of between 1.5 and 3.5 tonnes. These models will
Complement the existing Manitou range of Straight mast forklift trucks.
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A Manitou built Masted Forklift

The Hangzhou Irisman forklifts are currently marketed under the "Irisman" brand but will shortly be converted to Manitou livery and branding for all countries
where the Manitou Group is not already linked by distribution agreements with
other manufacturers.

This acquisition also provides the Manitou Group with a 6,800 square metre factory on a 21 hectare site and a supply base for sourcing local components. In the near future the company also plans establish a commercial entity, which it will hope will accelerate the growth in sales of Manitou products in the Chinese market.

The acquisition was completed by purchasing shares owned by Chinese shareholders, and by subscribing to two capital increases, which will increase the capital to the equivalent of $4.2 million. This will provide Manitou with 90 percent of the company’s capital, along with its local partner and current managing director, who will retain a 10 percent holding. As soon as the formalities have been completed, the company will be renamed Manitou Hangzhou Material Handling Co Ltd

Manitou chairman, Marcel Claude Braud, said: “This is a strategic
operation for the Group because it strengthens Manitou’s vocation to become a full player in the area of materials handling. It also opens up the Chinese market, which will certainly be a significant market in the future. This operation also reinforces the strong international dynamic of the Group following the opening a few weeks ago of a commercial office in India (Mumbai) and the establishment of a new distribution subsidiary in Australia (Sydney), to speed up expansion in the Pacific region”.